Eleanor of Aquitaine Died On This Day in History, April 1st, 1204

On This Day in 1204, Eleanor of Aquitaine died ( 1122 or 1124 – 1 April 1204)
Eleanor (Aliénor) of Aquitaine (1122 – 1204 (82)), Queen of France then England and one of the most remarkable women of the high middle ages, lived her last years in and died at Fontervraud

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe during the High Middle Ages inheriting the Duchy of Aquitaine from her father, William X, in 1137, and later became queen consort of France (1137–1152) and of England (1154–1189)

She was married first to the King of France (King Louis VII) — and divorced from him in part because she had no sons — she went on to have sons and daughters with her second husband, King of England (Henry II). One of her sons by Henry was Richard the Lionheart.

Eleanor of Aquitaine is said to be responsible for the introduction of built-in fireplaces, first used when she renovated the palace of her first husband Louis in Paris. Shocked by the frigid north after her upbringing in southern France, Eleanor’s innovation spread quickly, transforming the domestic arrangements of the time.

Katharine Hepburn plays Eleanor of Aquitaine in the acclaimed 1968 film, The Lion in Winter